After a 31-year stint on the iconic Vegas strip, the showgirls from the spectacle Jubilee! took a final perfectly timed kick in 2016. The extravaganza, renowned for its elaborate costumes created by American fashion designer Bob Mackie, closed its doors due to dwindling audience numbers and disappointed critics who called it a spectacle “trapped in time”.
Now, roughly eight years later, the showgirl persona, or at least the showgirl aesthetic, is making a comeback.
The King of Sequins
Dubbed the “master of glitz”, Mackie has made over-the-top showgirl glamour his signature style, outfitting everyone from screen legends to pop royalty. Earlier this month, a “see-through” bodysuit he designed for Cher in 1978 fetched $57,600, well over its estimated price, while a shimmering beaded bodysuit with reflective wings that Mackie created for Tina Turner for a 1977 concert sold for $19,200.
“In my view it looks more enticing for the new generation of stars who is looking for something other than what they grew up with”, he told a publication. “Today's artists are embracing a theatrical, more spectacular, show-stopping, grand statement.”
A Musical Revival
It’s a look that made its way all the way to the epicenter of popular culture in 2025 largely due to a global pop icon. Earlier this year, the music phenomenon wore one of Mackie’s vintage Jubilee! costumes on the cover of her new musical project. The crystal-covered bra and thong, ostrich-feather armbands and shimmering headpiece were tailor-made for a record titled The Life of a Showgirl.
She is part of a trend. This year, glamorous nods have been adopted by music artists including Miley Cyrus as they danced across world tours in sparkles, strategic openings and ostrich feathers, spotlighted against overstated sets. Lipa’s stylist her creative director explained to a fashion magazine he wanted to bring “a stage persona” to her Radical Optimism tour – referencing pictures from the 50s, Lipa’s dancers fluttered giant feathered fans.
Drawing from History
Modern stars and other hitmakers also draw on 19th-century entertainment forms, including burlesque and ensemble references. The results are worlds away from the 1990s era teen pop of short shirts and baggy pants, and hip-hop inspired dance moves that were popular earlier.
But certain observers are convinced with this showgirl revival. Nancy Hardy, a ex- Jubilee! showgirl who danced in the 00s says the trend is “puzzling”. She thinks the word showgirl is being “used as an umbrella term including everything from The Radio City Rockettes to Broadway performers and now apparently today's icons.”
A Coveted Classic Style
For younger and millennial stars, Mackie’s classic designs have become highly covetable. In 2024, a famous actress honored to one of Mackie’s first major stars, Cher, when the actress wore a see-through embellished dress created by the designer in 2001, which was similar to one he created for Cher to wear in 1967. Months after, Miley Cyrus paid an private amount to buy the Mackie beaded mini dress she had worn earlier in the year to perform at the Grammys. In September, Sabrina Carpenter wore a series of vintage Mackie designs at the MTV Video Music Awards. They are also a popular item among collectors.
“This style evoke a sense of longing for a bygone era of glitz,” says an archivist, a curator at the a Las Vegas university, who studies the story of showgirls. “Today it is seen as a sort of ‘acceptable’ allure because it has been modified. It has got all the sophistication, the crystals and the sparkle but without the nudity.”
A Than Simply Fashion: An Icon of Las Vegas
Chung says this figure are integral to the iconography of Vegas. She points to former mayor Oscar Goodman who, during official events, was flanked by two showgirls. While Las Vegas does not host any showgirl-based productions, Jung says they are still employed as an logo of the city, showing up at gatherings and in advertisements. “The showgirl is still a remaining symbol of Vegas spectacle,” she says.
An Allure of Transformation
Hardy says the transformative effect of a stage character is part of the attraction. This is a notion the singer hints at in a latest behind-the-scenes film that documents the off-camera action from her extensive 2023 Eras tour, which included intense practice sessions, training and countless performances across dozens of cities, each going on for 3.5 hours.
The performer explains her own showgirl performances as “like extreme physical exertion in stilettos every night”. Her headpiece tipped the scales at 34lbs. “I had to support it all the way up the staircase to the platform from the backstage area three floors below in the basement. I had to leave early for my moment so I could recover before I went on stage. One is working hard the whole time but crafting this image that it’s effortless and stunning and magical.”
Perhaps this is where the fascination of the showgirl really lies. In the chaos of 2025 there is a craving for escapism. Is there anyone better to turn to than such icons, who have always personified fantasy, perfection and a world where nobody misses a mark.
